Hammer ACE deploys to support USN T-45 crash

Members of the Hammer Adaptive Communications Element (ACE), 51st Combat Communications Squadron, 5th Combat Communication Group, participate in search and recovery efforts in response to a downed U.S. Navy aircraft incident Sept. 29 outside Tellico Plains, Tennessee. The efforts, which are currently ongoing in the Cherokee National Forest area, support both the recovery teams and the search for aircraft pieces needed by the Navy Aircraft Safety Investigation Board for the ongoing crash investigation. (courtesy photo)

Hammer ACE is a special purpose communications package, or Unit Type Code (equipment, personnel, and mission capabilities), that provides emergency initial Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4 capabilities) for incident response and consequence management. Incidents supported by HACE, when warranted, can include anything from chemical, biological, and nuclear events to downed aircraft, humanitarian and disaster relief.

The T-45 Goshawk belonged to Training Air Wing 1, one of five naval pilot training wings. The training jet was first reported missing Sept. around Tellico Plains, Tennessee. According to a press release Oct. 1 by Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, the two pilots on the T-45, an instructor and a student, did not survive the incident. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.